Asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 3.1% chance of hitting Earth in 2032
New Scientist - 18-Feb-2025More data may change the risk estimate, either increasing or decreasing it
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Beating nature at biology doesn't mean you'll still be able to live forever if a the ground opens up, buildings collapse on top of you, you're buried under hot ash or you're swept away by a wall of water. Will we one day be able to prevent natural disasters, who knows? Maybe increased earth monitoring we'll be able predict when its coming and get out of the way, or we'll even have personal survival suits like those developed for off-piste skiers - super advanced ones that throw an unbreakable shell around you when disaster strikes... but those are a long way off.
For now, we'll just keep track of some of the major natural disasters that hit our planet as a reminder that health and physical improvements are only part of the picture - if you're living forever eventually nature is going to strike you.
More data may change the risk estimate, either increasing or decreasing it
Scientists track a newly discovered space rock with a slim chance of colliding with Earth in 2032
Space objects aren't in lockdown so glad someone is still keeping any eye out for existential risks
Threat of asteroid collision is real - who wants to be wiped out like the dinosaurs?
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The Search for the Million Megaton Menace That Threatens Life on Earth, written by Duncan Steel
William E. Burrows presents a realistic, workable plan for defusing a potentially lethal threat from a rogue asteroid or comet
We've got to survive natural disasters as well as age-related diseases